Girls basketball ready to overcome obstacles

Coming off of one of their most successful seasons last year with a 7-16 record, the Monona Grove girls basketball program is hoping to keep the ball rolling this year.

“Last season we had our ups and downs but overall we made some real strides in the girls basketball program,” senior co-captain Kelsey Veserat said. “I’m predicting that this will be the year that we will overcome all obstacles.”

“I have high hopes for this season and it’s my last one, so hopefully it will be good,” said senior co-captain Emily Schmitz.

There is, however, a lot the team is looking to improve upon this season with a strong emphasis on defense under third-year coach Eric Nelson.

“We would like to play a cleaner game; minimize turnovers,” said Veserat, a guard for the Silver Eagles. “We always emphasize defense. Defense is where it all begins. We also want to get back to the fundamentals, push the court, and we want to play a fast game.”

Schmitz also emphasized defense and moving the ball up the floor as things the team would like to improve this year.

The team is not without its strengths though. Both Veserat and Schmitz are confident in their teammates and their abilities.

“We have some underclassmen making their way and we have some strong leadership from the upperclassmen,” Veserat said. “I think we’re just going to be a really strong team. I think everyone’s going to step up and work together. We’re all going to be leading our own ways. As a team we’re fast and we’re hard working. And I think our best strength is going to be we’re going to do whatever it takes to win.”

Schmitz believes the team’s athleticism will help to make the team very successful this season.

“We have a really quick team this year, so I think we can use that to our advantage by running the floor and fast breaks and stuff like that,” said Schmitz. “I think you can expect to see a pretty fast game. I think we have a really strong senior class this year. We’ll have some great leaders as seniors.”

The goals the Monona Grove girls basketball program has in mind are simple ones.

“We obviously want to put up strong numbers,” Veserat said. “We want to win. We also want to raise our standings in conference. We just want to be the strongest defense, hardest working team out there. ”

“We want to have a better record than last year,” Schmitz said. “Like I said before I think we’ll have a much quicker team so I think we can expect maybe a few more wins because of that.”

With their goals in mind the team is excited to get out there and start playing again.

“I’m looking forward to this season,” Schmitz said. “It should be a good one.”